Crymini woke from a troubled sleep to find Keekee floating directly above her head.
"AAAAAH!" Crymini twisted, flailed and thumped onto the floor. "Stop that. You're gonna get yourself stuck."
There wasn't any threat of that this morning. Crymini's tossing and turning had displaced her pillows, and the switchblade had fallen behind the bed.
The headache was an unpleasant thing to wake up to. The fever made her feel unpleasantly flushed. When she stretched her arm under the bed to retrieve her blade, it began to tremble.
"Fuck!" Crymini tossed her head back and just laid on the floor until her arm behaved.
Keekee watched her.
When the trembling stopped, Crymini got her switchblade and tossed it onto her bed. Then pulled herself to the shower. Turned it on, adjusting the water to something that would cool her down without freezing her, then collapsed into it, sitting in the stream.
Almost half an hour later, Crymini made her way downstairs. The others were having breakfast. They turned and stared. Probably because she was just wearing panties. But she didn't care; her only clothes were freshly cleaned and her body felt like rubbish, so she didn't want to foul them with herself. On second thought, the stares were probably because she looked like rubbish.
Crymini collapsed in the empty chair. "Who do I have to fuck to get angel dust?"
Shock from almost everyone around her. Except for the spider actually named Angel Dust. And Cherri Bomb. They just looked at her with obnoxiously knowing expressions. The creepy red dude just smiled.
"Ah," Cherri Bomb said. "PCP withdrawal's a bitch."
Crymini's eyes narrowed. "Is that a dog joke?"
Angel Dust chimed in. "I know those headaches. I'll get you some painkiller." The spider demon got up from the table.
Charlie looked on with clear concern.
Cherri Bomb noted, "Ya doin' a lot better than most I know."
Crymini snorted. "Yeah, well, you learn moderation if you don't want to get dead in the old DD. Can't dodge a grenade when you're having a seizure."
Angel Dust called back, "Dying is a great detox though."
"Damn fuck it is." Crymini nodded, calling back, "Fastest rehab."
Husk was staring at her. "And you just, what, ignore the cravings when you've already had enough? That's not normally how that works."
Crymini glared. "You saying I'm lying?"
"No. Just saying that, if you're being honest, I admire your willpower." Husk took a swig of his coffee, emptying the Fuck Mondays cup. "I'm gonna get some more. Anyone need a refill? How 'bout you, kid? Want some coffee. Or hot cocoa."
Crymini snapped, "Fuck you."
Angel Dust returned, painkiller in an open palm. "Get her something to wash these down with."
"Beer." Belatedly, Crymini remembered he didn't have beer. "Fuck, it's morning. A screwdriver."
Husk looked at her. "Rrrriiight."
Vaggie spoke up. "Just so you know, you can't do drugs in the hotel. Or stash them here. We're not going to pretend we can tell you not to do them someplace else, but we encourage you to keep clean. It will help your rehabilitation."
Charlie nodded with enthusiastic affirmation.
Crymini let out a long, canine whine.
"You can do it," Husk assured her. "It's easy. You have any idea how many times I've quit drinking?"
Vaggie said, "Not helpful, Husk."
Husk brought a coffee mug filled with orange liquid to Crymini.
Crymini took the painkiller and downed it with a gulp from the mug. She sputtered. "What the fuck is this?!"
Crymini slammed down the mug like it was full of poison.
"A virgin screwdriver," Husk answered.
"It's just fucking orange juice you fuzzy old cunt!"
First Cherri Bomb snickered, then Angel Dust.
Charlie blinked, looking between them and Crymini, and then at...
Crymini growled at Husk. "And if you're so concerned about my age, why are you giving me a mug with a naked..." Her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh whoa, that's Vaggie."
Vaggie turned and looked at the coffee mug Husk had given Crymini. "What. The. FUCK!"
She glared. "Me cago en todo lo que se menea, why do we even have that?"
Alastor continued to smile. A lot.
Day Three - Hazbin Hotel, morning:
Charlie was watching a train wreck. No, worse, a train wreck full of teddy bears. Crashing into... something that a train full of teddy bears could crash into that wouldn't be good.
She had wanted a lighthearted lesson after the scene at breakfast. Something to get everyone smiling and laughing. What could be better than a lesson about Do-Overs?
She had even shared a fun little one about how she wished she could go back and add some tap dancing to her song when she promoted the hotel on the 666 News. Because that would probably have made it more of a crowd pleaser.
Vaggie shared that she wished she could go back and join her and Emily for the trip to the zoo in Heaven. It wouldn't have changed what Adam and Lute did in Court, but at least she would have gotten to join in the koala hugging.
Then Angel Dust said he wished he hadn't overdosed and died. And everything got heavy and messy again. Now Leonard was telling them how he wished he had never gotten involved with Overlords.
"At that point, I was lookin' for stability. And she had been an Overlord for centuries," Leonard told them. "So I took the work. How much more stable can it get, right? That was my first mistake."
"What happened?" Emily asked.
Charlie cringed... and saw others around the room do the same.
Leonard scowled. "The Radio Demon happened. And after he was done consuming her or whatever the fuck he does to make sure his victims don't come back? Her little empire ripped itself apart while the remaining Overlords took everything and everyone they could. It was a feeding frenzy. It was going to take more than just a little luck to come out in one piece, much less in a position that was solid."
Husk closed his eyes and let out a soft rumble.
"My second mistake was decidin' that hey, if I Contract with the one that ain't a sadistic piece of shit, that will protect my soul from bein' owned by one of the Overlords who are."
Charlie sighed. "Okay, who wants to go next?"
Husk admitted, "Well, that dovetails into what I would like to take back. But... I don't think I need to explain it."
The winged feline demon sighed. "But I am sorry. And not just because of what those choices did to me. I betrayed a lot of trusts. And it took me this long to even look past myself to see that. If I could take it all back, I would."
Leonard glared at Husk, then turned away. "Fine. In that case, I got a question..."
The shark looked at Vaggie. "...For our former Exorcist. How many demons did you kill?"
Charlie gasped and looked to Vaggie, seeing the pain in her eye.
"Rude!" Emily reprimanded. "She's not like that anymore."
Charlie nodded firmly. "Vaggie is not that person anymore. And that is not how this lesson is supposed to work."
Vaggie sighed. "It's a fair question, loves. Leonard wasn't here when we talked about this the first time." She looked down. "And no matter what I do or how I've changed, it doesn't bring any of those people back."
Emily moved to Vaggie and took her hand, squeezing it supportively.
Vaggie looked to Leonard. "I don't have an exact number. But I was an Exorcist for a decade, and I averaged around 225 a year. So Adam was right. Thousands."
Charlie moved to stand next to Vaggie, putting a hand on her shoulder. "This place is about redemption."
Angel Dust agreed supportively, "Yeah, nobody here has a past that isn't full of shit." He reconsidered. "Except, I guess, Charlie and Emily."
Emily spoke up, "I personally might not need redemption, but Heaven does. Those thousands aren't just on Vaggie's hands."
Speaking casually, Leonard said, "Didn't mean to offend. I just like to know the skillsets of the people I hang with." He shrugged, looking at Vaggie. "And you weren't even the top soldier, right?"
Vaggie took a deep breath. "One of them. There were a few, Lute and a couple others, with higher counts. But..."
"And unlike them," Leonard noted, "You're apologetic. Changed your ways and all that. So, unlike them, you deserve a chance."
He sat back. "I'm done. Who's next?"
Crymini stared from within the blanket she had wrapped herself, not participating. Barely there as she rode out her withdrawal.
Cherri Bomb shrugged, saying nothing. Charlie understood why: Izzi was dead, no point dwelling.
Alastor shadowed beside Husk. "I suppose that would be me."
Husk's hackles rose briefly.
Leonard tensed up.
Charlie's eyes widened in surprise. "Alastor? You've... never participated before."
Vaggie questioned, "You want a do-over?"
"Who doesn't?" Alastor twirled his microphone. "But there's one that's really been gnawing at me lately."
The Radio Demon looked to Charlie. "When little Lucifer first came over, I exaggerated our bond to get under his skin. For all his power, he had been a dismal failure at his most important role."
Charlie's eyes teared up a little as she realized the role Alastor meant...
...but also frowned, not happy about having been toyed with. And a little miffed at the way he was talking about her dad.
Alastor continued, radio static crackling in his voice. "I'd like to claim my needling encouraged him to step up, but it didn't. Charlie, that was all you."
Charlie stared, feeling conflicted.
Husk stared in disbelief.
Alastor concluded, "I regret having played with your emotions during that song, Charlie. It was reprehensible."
Charlie felt truly touched. "Alastor, I..."
She pushed her conflicting feelings aside, knowing what response her own lessons taught. "...forgive you?"
Alastor's smile broadened with a happy crackle of static. "Wonderful! Now that that's off my chest, I have business elsewhere to take care of." He shadowed over to the front door. "Ciao!"
Charlie blinkblinked.
Emily opened all her eyes and stared at him, then cringed back.
Alastor opened the door and walked out, humming a tune as the door closed behind him.
Angel Dust broke the silence. "The fuck was that?"
Husk scowled "I don't know what that was. I couldn't even tell you who that was."
Charlie was at a loss. "Well... I'm... glad he's gotten better."
Emily shook her head. "He hasn't. Whatever's wrong with him, it's getting worse."
Day Three - Belphegor's Estate, Sloth, noon:
Sera stared towards the door. "There are still monsters outside my room. Are they guards? Am I a prisoner?"
"No," Lucifer told her. "That is Belphegor and Frederick. And they're concerned about you."
Sera looked at Lucifer, bewildered. "Why? I'm not a demon." She frowned, eyes narrowing. "Although at least one of them is something much worse."
Lucifer sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sera..."
Sera laid it out. "I don't know them. They don't know me. And I allowed millions of demons to be slaughtered by Heaven."
"Frederick is an old friend of mine," Lucifer told her. "And Belphegor is the one who is giving you a place to stay. She's the Sin of Sloth and the ruler of this part of Hell. Or was."
Sera stared. "Was, Lucifer? Do you really mean to say I rule..." She waved a hand at the window. "...this?!"
"Is that why she's here?" Sera asked. "Why I'm receiving kindness from a Sin? Because she believed I'm here to dethrone her?"
Lucifer balked. "This is a conversation for much later." He sighed under the many eyes of Sera's glare. "But you do have power..."
"I don't want power!"
Sera rose up from the bed. "I don't want to be here, much less rule it! I don't want a throne. Look at what happened the last time I had power! I did my best, and I still made horrible choices. Choices that erased souls who should be in Heaven!"
"I was supposed to protect Heaven's souls!" She held out her arms, taking her full fallen seraphim form. "The Elders Above didn't make a mistake. I should be here. And you think I want that kind of power, that kind of responsibility, again?"
Lucifer frowned. "No. But like it or not, you do."
"Well then let it be taken from me!" Sera shouted. "If I could give it away, I would."
Lucifer's face fell. "That... is a very dangerous mindset to have."
Day Three - Belphegor's Estate, Sloth, early afternoon:
Lucifer stepped out of Belphegor's guest room and into the grand hall, closing the door behind him.
Frederick von Eldritch was leaning against one of Belphegor's planters. "Well that sounded lovely."
"I have her calmed down again," Lucifer said. "But..."
Belphegor spoke calmly. "Take the time she needs, Lucifer. You know me. I am not in a hurry."
Frederick chuckled. "Ha. Good one."
Belphegor was unfazed. "What is important where Sera is concerned is that she is given the time and help she needs to psychologically stabilize. So that she does not become a danger to herself or others."
Lucifer nodded. "Thanks again, Bel."
Frederick offered, "You know, if all else fails, I can make that wish of hers a reality."
Lucifer stared. "Freddy..."
Belphegor agreed lazily. "That is what you are here for. But only as a last resort."
"Just reminding you we have a nuclear option," Frederick said. "And from the sounds of it, your Sera is on board."
"She's not my anything," Lucifer insisted. "Hasn't been for a long time. And noted."
Belphegor asked, "So we are all agreed that we do nothing for now."
Frederick gave her a friendly tease, "Proactive inertia. Your specialty."
After a long moment, Belphegor said, "I regret to inform you both that we have another problem."
Lucifer scowled. "What now?"
Frederick's eyes narrowed. "We?"
Belphegor informed them, "Victor is out of his cage."
Frederick's smile disappeared.
Lucifer took a moment. "What?"
"Apparently, he has been for several days now," Belphegor added.
Frederick asked, "How did that happen?"
"The only way it could." Belphegor responded. "He was summoned."
Lucifer fretted. "But nobody had a chain on him. If they did, I would have seen it."
Belphegor nodded slowly. "Which only leaves..." She turned her stare on Frederick von Eldritch. " Other summoning methods."
Frederick's voice took an edge. "Why are you looking at me? I certainly didn't do it. You know that. I've been here . And I'm not responsible for every abomination any more than Luci is responsible for every demon."
Belphegor's tone was mildly apologetic. "I did not mean to suggest that. But Victor was empowered by your..." The Sin trailed off, at a loss for the right words.
Frederick was getting close to angry. "My what? I was vomited up here the same way Luci was cast down." He paused then added, "There was literal vomiting involved. I don't have any more connection with There than Lucifer has with Heaven!"
Lucifer chimed in, "To be fair, Bel, the last connection I had with Heaven is sleeping in your guest room. My daughter has more connections with Heaven than I do."
He looked to Frederick. "I don't suppose the same can be said of your son?"
Frederick frowned, calming. "I doubt it. But he's an enterprising young man. He might have forged a few. It's... worth checking. I'll ask him." He smiled. "Don't let your Sera do something everybody will regret while I'm gone."
"She's not my..." Lucifer watched as a black maw ringed with glowing teeth melted Frederick and swallowed him up. "...nevermind."
Day Three - Hazbin Hotel, early afternoon:
Charlie was sitting with Vaggie and Angel Dust at the bar, signing bills. In pen. At Vaggie's and Husk's insistence.
Charlie looked up as Leonard strode past on the way to the door, immediately flashing to her father's warning. "Leonard? Where are you going?"
Putting on a hat, Leonard answered, "Same place I went yesterday. Work. The lot of you may just live here, but I have a job to do."
"Oh. Right. Just... be careful. Please?"
Leonard opened the front door to find a demon standing there, hand raised to knock.
The delivery demon was standing in front of a stack of boxes as tall as he was on a dolly. "Oh! Can you sign for these?" He offered Leonard an electronic clipboard.
Leonard shrugged. "Sure." He signed.
"I got this." Leonard picked up the entire stack off the dolly and carried them inside, kicking the door shut behind him.
Charlie jumped up and ran to the door, opening it and tipping the confused delivery man. "Thanks!"
She closed the door and scampered to the parlor to where Leonard was setting down the boxes. She looked at the delivery label and gave a happy squeak, pulling the top box open.
"What is it, hon?" Vaggie asked, approaching.
Charlie announced happily, "The soundproofing!"
Husk muttered, "Thank Christ." He gave Vaggie a look that made her flush with embarrassment. The melting two nights ago had not gone unnoticed.
"Congrats!" Angel Dust cheered. "Halfway to Charliegasm-proofing the hotel." He smirked at Charlie's blush. "Now you just need those whatsits from Heaven."
Leonard pulled a hear-no-evil wall mask from the protective stuffing. "What-proofing the hotel?"
Charlie's face fell. "Nothing. Forget he said that. These are just sound proofing for... things."
"For the things that left Vaggie too weak to get out of bed half of yesterday," Angel Dust clarified with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Vaggie growled warningly at Angel Dust.
Leonard suggested, "I'd watch out, buddy. That one's still got her spear."
Vaggie let out an "Arrugh." She turned and buried her face in her hands. "Me cago en la leche. This sucks."
"That's not what it sounded like two nights ago, toots. Although I bet there was a lot of sucking involved." Angel Dust laughed at her growl.
But then he looked at Vaggie, and asked with a tone of slight but genuine concern. "Or is that not what you were talking about?"
Vaggie noted the shift in the spider demon's demeanor. He'd had his fun, and now was going to be helpful if she let him. She groaned. "That's all they see me as. The ex-Exorcist. The mass murderer." She sighed. "This isn't like the Vagyna Model. I care about Charlie's hotel and the people in it."
Angel Dust considered her. "Well, to be fair, that's all you've given them to know."
Vaggie looked up. "What?"
"Those of us who've known you for a while, we know you love Charlie. And you're passionate for her dream. And protect them." He paused. "And now Emily too." Angel Dust shrugged. "But other than that, all we know about you is ex-Exorcist." He smirked. "And hot flasher."
Vaggie narrowed her eye and grumbled.
"Point is, if you want people to see you as more than that, you gotta open up a little."
Vaggie watched Charlie and Leonard open all the boxes. "There's... really nothing more to tell."
Angel Dust cringed. "Yeeesh. Even I know that's not healthy."
"Hell, the other day when you said you'd passed Driver's Ed? That was the first time in seven months you even mentioned having had a mortal life. If it wasn't for your cussing, I woulda totally believed you were just born an Exorcist angel, spear in hand." Angel Dust insisted, "There's more to you."
Vaggie watched as a blanket-wrapped Crymini took a peek at Charlie's boxes. "You're... not wrong. About the healthy thing."
Angel Dust smiled. "So, let's fix that."
"Hey, Leonard, can you spare a few minutes before you have to go?" Angel Dust clapped his hands loudly. "Hey everyone! Gather 'round! Vaggie's gonna tell us how she died."
Vaggie jolted "I'm going to what?!"
Angel Dust grinned. "If you don't have anything more to your time in Hell or your time in Heaven, I figure we have to go back farther."
Vaggie looked up to see everyone staring at her expectantly. Even Charlie and Emily. She groaned inwardly, fleetingly wanting to both thank Angel Dust and skin him alive.
Charlie smiled encouragingly. "Tell us only if you want to. But, I'd really like to hear."
Emily flapped her wings, eager to learn more about her girlfriend.
Vaggie crossed her arms, closing her eye. "Grumble, fine."
Husk asked, "Did you just say 'grumble'?"
Vaggie opened her eye. "I was on my way to work..."
She looked at Charlie's expression of barely-restrained joy at hearing her open up even this much.
"...well, sort of," Vaggie clarified. "They had just rented a new building on the far side of town, much bigger than our old one, and I had volunteered my Saturday to help move."
Emily interrupted to ask, "Where did you work?"
Vaggie was silent a moment. "I'd rather not say."
"You made it into Heaven," Husk pointed out. "It can't be that bad."
Vaggie sighed. "I worked for the Salvation Army." She rolled her eye at the wave of laughs and snickers.
Charlie gasped. "You were in the army when you were a human too?"
More laughter.
Cherri Bomb said, "That's not what the Salvation Army is, Charlie. They help people. It generally doesn't involve spears."
Plowing ahead, Vaggie continued. "The new place wasn't walking distance. So I climbed into our old jalopy, put one of my favorite cassettes in the player, and headed across town."
Crymini spoke up from within her blanket. "What band?"
"It's... not important."
Angel Dust grinned. "Come oooooon," he reminded her, "This is about you sharing."
Vaggie sighed again and braced. "Sisters of Mercy."
Angel Dust chuckling. "Wow, you're just living irony."
Emily ooohed. "I like the name."
Cherri Bomb snickered. "Not bad. Which album?"
Vaggie closed her eye and admitted, "Reptile House. I... may have been a little goth."
Crymini blurted, "You had an emo phase?"
Charlie could not hold back a squee.
Niffty cheered, "Gothmoth!"
"Anyway, I was almost there when I restarted the tape and the jalopy's player decided to eat the cassette. I only looked away from the road for two seconds. And then, Heaven."
Charlie gasped "I'm so sorry!" She cringed. "Well, not sorry, because you got into Heaven. And I wouldn't have met you if... but I'm still..."
Vaggie put a gentle stop to that. "I get it, love. Don't stress." She looked around. "I don't know what any of you were expecting. But my death was boring and mundane."
Angel Dust's brow furrowed. "Waaaaait. The other day, you told me you'd only driven once."
"Yep."
"And it killed you?" Angel Dust exclaimed. "Wow, here I felt bad about my driving. Now I'm thinking we're lucky we survived the trip."
Vaggie shrugged. "I called shotgun for a reason."
"Hold on." Cherri Bomb looked aside as she drew on old memories. "Are you telling us..." She looked back at Vaggie. "...that you died listening to Kiss the Carpet ?"
Vaggie stood up. "Storytime is over."
Cherri Bomb asked, "Does Alastor somehow know that?"
Niffty asked, "Is that why you're a lesbian?"
"Todo se va a la mierda. No. And no! Storytime is over!"
Day Three - Hazbin Hotel private room / Belphegor's Estate, afternoon:
"You think she can help?" Emily asked. She and her girlfriends had retreated into one of the private rooms off the parlor.
Charlie nodded, pulling out her phone. "If anyone can. I've had her number on speed dial for years, but never thought I'd use it."
Moments later, on the far end of Hell...
Belphegor looked at her phone with lazy surprise. "Your daughter's calling."
"Charlie's calling you?" Lucifer checked his own phone, making sure it was working.
Belphegor answered. "Hello?"
"Hello, Belphegor. This is Charlie Morningstar. Um, Lucifer Morningstar's daughter? You know my dad."
"Yes, Missus Morningstar. I know who you are. To what do I owe the call?"
Charlie hesitated. "Well, you're the best in all of Hell when it comes to pharmaceutical things like drugs and... um... poisons. Right?"
"Yes."
"I have a..." Charlie paused. "Well, a friend, who has been poisoned. And he's not getting better. Is there any way I could get a cure from you?"
"That would depend on the poison." Belphegor ignored how Lucifer's eyes widened. "Bring him to Saint An's, and I will see he is taken care of."
Charlie winced. "I... can't really do that. He's a sinner demon. I can't take him out of Pride." She cringed more, whispering. "And he wouldn't accept the help."
"I understand," Belphegor told her. "If you cannot bring him to me, then bring me the poison. I will do what I can with that."
Charlie smiled, the relief clear in her voice. "Thank you! I'll... I think I can do that. You're amazing."
"Thanks are premature," Belphegor told her.
"Oh. Uh, right. Thanks...uh, I mean, I'll see you soon. I hope." Charlie ended the call.
Emily asked hopefully, "She can help?"
Vaggie blinked. "Alastor's been poisoned? That's what's wrong?"
Charlie nodded. "If we can get a sample of the poison."
"Do we know where the poison came from?" Vaggie asked.
Charlie nodded again.
Vaggie carefully broached. "Are you allowed to tell us?"
Charlie closed her eyes, weighing her options and making a decision. "Moneyshot."
Vaggie frowned. "So... we break into an Overlord's home, steal his weapon, and hope it has bullets with the same poison?"
"Either that," Charlie said, "Or I get Alastor to tell us where the real bullet is."
Day Three - Victor's Clinic, afternoon:
Leonard parked the truck and shut it off. He pulled the long box and the wrapped package from the passenger seat and exited the vehicle, locking it. He carried the box over his shoulder, the package stuffed in his belt. The shark demon navigated the narrow alley, turning at the recess in the wall and climbing down the steep concrete steps to Victor's clinic.
Victor was studying the angel mounted to the wall. She was bleeding from an excess of wounds, but the doctor ignored them, focusing on the swollen buboes along her neck and beneath her missing arm. He turned when Leonard cleared his throat.
"Got your order. Those Veetek folks really will coat anything with angelic steel if you pay them enough, won't they?"
"Excellent. Set it down on the table." Victor moved to open the box, eyeing the orderly row of tools before pulling out a silvery-metal corkscrew and examining it. "These will allow a more nuanced study than my scalpel alone."
Lute moaned, conscious.
Leonard turned to look at her. "And Husker once complained my work was messy." He looked back at Victor. "How are you sure we're not in any danger of getting... whatever she's got?"
"Smart question." Victor moved on to examining the angelic-steel borer. "Her sickness is bubonic. It really is not that easy to catch. Especially given the fleas in the area will only bite who I tell them to."
He put the borer back in the box, exchanging it for an angelic bonesaw. "Just don't go sucking at anything golden, and you'll be fine. Hmmm, exquisite craftsmanship, if simplistic."
Victor chuckled. "You can see why I can't trust the locals for this work."
Leonard scoffed, "No shit."
The shark walked to the small supply room and started pulling out new sheets of plastic. "How'd a flea manage to bite an angel anyway?"
Victor was looking over a silver-needle syringe. "Oh, they couldn't. But the children's little knives opened her enough for them to do their work. Oh! Fetch some more tubing while you are in there."
"Got it," Leonard said. "And I picked up a little something extra. There's a weird mask-thing in the package that's supposed to help soundproof the room. Should keep the locals from getting curious again."
"Oh exceptional initiative. No qualms about the work then?"
Leonard replied, "You wouldn't ask if you knew me. Besides, I have it on good authority this one deserves it. A lot."
Victor walked up to Lute, grabbing her by the hair and lifting her head to look into her eyes.
Lute struggled to focus on him, features twisting into a hateful scowl, and spit golden blood across his mask.
"This phase of the research is moving along quite nicely." Victor lifted the borer. "Once I have a strain powerful enough to overwhelm an angel's immune system, then we'll work on a pneumonic variant."
Leonard collected the requested tubing as the angel started to scream again.
Day Three - The von Eldritch Estate, afternoon:
Seviathan checked himself in the mirror. The black suit with green pinstripes was a step up from his casual wear. Probably wasted, but he enjoyed making an impression even if nobody else made the effort.
He adjusted his ascot. Flared it out a bit so the little teeth were visible. It's the little things that set one apart. Any plebeian could rock a tie.
In the mirror, he saw the bubbling black stain spread out on the carpet before geysering up his father like so much crude oil.
"There you are," Frederick said.
"Good afternoon, father," Seviathan responded, looking at him in the mirror. "To what do I owe the visit?"
Frederick raised an eyebrow. "You're looking especially poisonous today. Funeral?"
"Close," Seviathan informed him. "I'm going on a date."
That lifted both of his father's eyebrows. "Oh? From which family?"
Seviathan sighed inwardly. "Nothing that serious, father. Was there something you needed from me?"
Frederick frowned a little. "Yes. There is an abomination running loose whom I need to find. Answers to the name of Victor."
"Haven't seen him or heard of him," Seviathan stated. "Sorry."
Frederick added, "He was recently summoned. Apparently through Other means."
"Haven't summoned him either. Or anyone for that matter. Not recently. Have you asked Helsa?"
Frederick replied, "Not yet. I will. But in the meantime, I want you to tug whatever connections you have with the Other , rattle the chains and cages, and let me know what you can learn. The faster Victor is dealt with, the better."
Seviathan rolled his eyes. "As you request. After my date."
He turned to his father. "If this abomination is actually a problem, doesn't that sound more like Helsa's doing than mine?"
Frederick agreed, "She is more of a monster than you are."
"No need to be insulting." Seviathan sighed. "So, who is this guy that he has you sweating?"
"A sinner demon," Frederick told him. "He'll tell you he's a doctor. Used Europe as his own petri dish, intentionally spreading the plague he was supposed to be curing. A couple million deaths are at least indirectly the result of his studies."
Seviathan chuckled. "Ah, so he really deserves to be in Hell. Why isn't he Lucifer's problem?"
"Because the Powers Below invested in him." Frederick fumed coldly. "Tried to turn him into Their little piece in the Final Game. And it backfired, just like I warned Them it would. Because They're psychotically allergic to common sense."
Seviathan turned back to the mirror. "Yes, well, you can't really expect Them to grok Free Will."
He touched up his hair. "So, what do you do with a guy like that when you find him?"
There was no answer.
"Father?" He turned, but he was alone in the room.
Seviathan muttered sarcastically, "Goodbye, son. Have a great time on your date."
Day Three - Hazbin Hotel parlor, late afternoon:
Crymini was sitting apart from everyone, still wrapped in a blanket. Her brow was furrowed from the pain of her headache, her fur was matted, and she was panting from her elevated body temperature.
Husk and Angel Dust were sitting on the couch together, looking at Angel's phone. Browsing Angel Dust's favorite selection of clothing outlets.
"Okay, seriously, why a bikini?" Husk asked. "You don't actually have tits."
"I'm expressing myself." Angel Dust looked up as Emily entered the room. "Hey, Em. Want to join us? We're shopping for swimwear." He added, "You know, for when we actually get this new hotel's hot tub up and running?"
"Eee! I'd love to!" Emily stopped herself. "Buuuuut I have to go back to Heaven. I've been letting things pile up just a tiny bit."
The seraphim counted tasks on her fingers. "There's probably a dozen new petitions. And I need to make sure the requisition for building supplies for the new Embassy will be ready in time. Plus, I want to check in with Molly and Mr. Pentious."
Husk asked, "How can Heaven have so much paperwork?"
"Some angels like paperwork." Emily opened a golden portal, the light of Heaven shining through.
Crymini sat up, pupils widening. "Whoa!"
Emily waved, then asked, "Why don't you two find some swimsuits you think I'd like? I'll take a look at them when I get back."
Angel Dust asked slyly, "That you'd like? Or that Charlie and Vaggie would like to see you in."
Emily giggled. "Consider who I'm asking."
Angel Dust grinned. "Okay!" He pointed the fingers of two hands at Husk. "And you don't want his fashion sense. I'm still trying to get him to buy something other than trunks."
"Swimming trunks are perfectly suitable," Husk defended.
"Bye! Remind Charlie and Vaggie that I love them!" Emily stepped through the portal, closing it behind her.
Crymini whispered in awe, "That was Heaven!"
She saw the raised eyebrows from the boys on the couch and stowed her wonder protectively. "Yeah, I know she's an angel. I just..."
Angel Dust understood. "Actually seeing Heaven makes it way more real, doesn't it?"
"Yeah." Husk smiled at Crymini. "Hazbin Hotel's mission statement isn't just pretty words."
Angel Dust offered, "Hey, Crymini, why don't we get you some more clothing while we're shopping? That way, you're not at the mercy of Niffty's laundry schedule."
Crymini was immediately suspicious. "Why? You always wear that same suit."
"Yeah, but I've got, like, seven of them." The spider demon took a snapshot of Crymini with his phone.
Crymini jumped. "What was that for!?"
Husk said, "Calm down. His phone has a Velvette's app that gets your perfect size for ordering."
"Oh." Crymini frowned and looked away. "Don't bother. I can't afford new clothes."
Husk grinned. "My treat. I just got my first paycheck from Charlie."
He looked to Angel Dust. "Either she's a really generous employer, she's trying to give me backpay, or Charlie just doesn't understand money. Place your bet?"
Angel Dust replied, "I'll put twenty on 'all three'."
Crymini eyes shifted as she tried to process. "I... really don't feel like getting close to people right now."
"Fine," Angel Dust said. "I'll shop for you. How do you feel about checkered shirts?"
"How do you feel about breathing?" Crymini retorted.
"Well, then you should come over here," Husk advised. "Sitting on the couch gives you veto power."
Angel Dust smirked, looking to Husk. "Think it would bother Vaggie if I picked her up something from Velvette's ?"
"Depends. Would that stop you or encourage you?"
Angel Dust enlarged a picture. "I'm thinking of getting her this gothic swimsuit."
Husk chuckled. "That... would be worth every penny of your funeral."
"Yeah, I'm doin' it." Angel Dust placed the order.
Crymini growled a little under her breath and scooted slightly closer to the couch.
Charlie and Vaggie walked in, having been in their bedroom installing the soundproofing.
"Hey, um... Crymini?"
Crymini responded irritably, "Yeah?"
Charlie hesitated. "I was wondering if you might know... and I'm not blaming you or anything, but..."
Vaggie stated bluntly, "One of the soundproofing masks is missing."
Charlie quickly waved her hands. "Not that it's important! I ordered more than we needed because they were cheaper as a bigger set, so..."
Husk and Angel Dust exchanged looks.
Crymini glowered. "And so obviously I'm the one who took it."
The puppy demon stood up, shedding her blanket. "Even though I've been down here all day?"
She picked up the blanket and shook it. "Not in my blanket. And I'm not wearing anything to hide it in." Crymini challenged, "Do you want to check my panties?"
Charlie quickly waved that off. "No! No, I was just hoping you might... have seen where it went to?"
"Here!" Crymini pushed over the closest chair. "Let's check under all the furniture I've been sitting near. Maybe I slid it under something!"
Vaggie stared. "Okay, let's do that."
"No!" Charlie turned to Vaggie. "She said she didn't, so we should trust her. We have no reason not to."
Vaggie retorted, "Except she didn't actually say that, and she's stolen before. Repeatedly."
Crymini huffed. "I'm going to my room." She stared at Vaggie as she marched past her. "Want to frisk me? Hell, maybe I stuck it up my butt."
Angel Dust watched her stomp off down the hall. "Ya ain't walkin' nearly funny enough."
"Lay off," Husk told everyone. "She didn't do it."
"You know who did?" Angel Dusk asked, surprised.
"No." He added, "But I'm pretty good at reading bluffs, and that wasn't one. She wasn't faking indignation to cover guilt."
Charlie drooped. "Oh no. Vaggie, we fucked up. Now she's going to feel attacked here."
Vaggie groaned. "I'll talk to her. Apologize."
"Yeah, well, maybe wait until after she's detoxed," Husk recommended.
Charlie took that advice to heart. "How long will that take? Does she need medical help? Should I call Belphegor again?"
"I know my namesake," Angel Dust said. "Give her a couple days. A few benzos for the shakes wouldn't hurt."
He added for Charlie's benefit, "And be thankful she's not still a human. That shit can take years to fully shake in the Living World. If sinner demons didn't detox a lot faster and cleaner, I would be way more of a mess."
Husk grumbled, getting off the couch. "I'll be right back. There's a Sleepy Pillz vending machine a couple blocks from here."
Day Three - Streets of Pentagram City, late afternoon:
Husk was retrieving a pill bottle from the Sleepy Pillz vending machine when he felt a familiar presence approach from behind.
"Husker. It's good to see you outside the hotel." Alastor looked at the vending machine. "Well now. If Leonard asks how you sleep at night, I have an answer."
Husk closed his eyes and didn't take the bait. "What do you want?"
"To apologize," Alastor said with a hiss of radio static.
Husk's eyes opened wide. "Come again?"
Alastor looked his microphone up and down. "It occurs to me that I haven't always treated you well. And I..."
Husk spun. "No!"
Alastor's smile narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"I don't know what this is, but I'm not interested."
"I assure you," Alastor said, "I am being quite genuine."
Husk frowned. "Sure. But you're not yourself. You're like a drunk man blabbering sorries. When you sober up, things will go right back to how they were."
He scowled, pointing a finger. "Only in your case, things will be worse. Because you'll want to be crueler and more sadistic to take back the power you feel you lost by being vulnerable."
Alastor stood unmoving. Smiling. A genial expression frozen on his face as the world around them dissolved into static and darkness so complete Husk could not see the light of the vending machine he was standing next to anymore.
Husk swallowed hard. "I said. I'm. Not. Interested."
The world righted itself. Alastor was gone.
Husk collapsed back against the vending machine, steadying his breathing.
He took his time walking back to the Hazbin Hotel.
When Husk reached the hotel, he found Leonard climbing the fence. At Husk's approach, the gate clicked and swung open.
Husk cleared his throat, catching Leonard's attention, and pointed at the open gate.
Leonard jumped down on the inner side. "It wasn't like that a minute ago."
Husk opened his mouth to agree, but stopped, eyeing the shark. "That's not the same outfit you went to work in."
"Other one got dirty."
"Where is it?" Husk asked. "Niffty will clean it."
"I left it at work," Leonard stated. "Figured it will be my work clothes from now on." The shark's eyes narrowed. "What's it to you, Husker? Why the interrogation?"
Husk stated, "One of Charlie's soundproofing masks is missing. I saw you take one out to look at it. Never saw you put it back." He was certain in his suspicions but cautious not to cause a repeat of Crymini. "Is there someplace you might have misplaced it?"
Leonard glared. "You accusing me of something?"
"Are you really looking for redemption?" Husk questioned.
Leonard fell silent a moment, staring shrewdly. "Why are you asking?"
"Because I know you, Lenny," Husk said. "And if you are looking for redemption, that's great. But everything I'm seeing from you, and all this talk about skillsets, tells me that what you're looking to change isn't your behavior."
Husk hooked a thumb towards the hotel. "What you see in there? It's real. This really is crayons and sharing your feelings. Charlie really is just a good woman trying to help people. The Princess of Hell isn't a power player to attach yourself to. She's not in the market for an enforcer."
Leonard reminded him, "I've already got a job."
"One that you had before you first showed up at that door?" Husk asked. "One you're not looking to ditch?"
The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a monstrous black limousine accented in malachite. The limo pulled in through the open doors and drove up to the front door of the hotel. There were no doors beyond the one for the driver. Instead, the vehicle's midsection was a ring of clenched fangs.
Husk raised an eyebrow and followed Leonard up to the hotel entrance.
Day Three - Hazbin Hotel, late afternoon:
Husk returned a few seconds after Leonard. He saw the shark was already heading down the hall towards his room. He hoped Leonard was not the problem Husk suspected he was.
Husk spotted Charlie and approached her, holding up the bottle. "I've got some medicine for Crymini." He hooked a thumb towards the front door. "What's with the limo outside?"
As if in answer, he was nearly bowled over by a fast-moving Niffty. He did a quick dance to regain his balance. His eyes widened as he took in the vintage dress and hat the little woman was wearing.
"Where's the fire, Niff?"
"Ain't that the outfit Alastor made her for the commercial?" Angel Dust asked from the couch. "I didn't know we could keep those."
Niffty sang over her shoulder. "I'm going on a date!"
She reached the door and started jumping for the doorknob. Husk looked at everyone, then walked back and opened it for her.
Niffty danced out, turning to wave frantically. "Bye! Dinner's in the fridge. Don't stay up too late."
Niffty turned and skipped down the steps to the limo. The teeth of the black and malachite vehicle's midsection groaned apart. Seviathan stood just inside, dressed smartly in a slick black suit with green pinstripes. He extended a hand, helping Niffty inside. The teeth closed around them, the limo swallowing its passengers.
Husk blinked twice. Then slowly closed the door. He turned to Charlie. "Better than Izzi, right?"
Charlie was standing very still, looking completely stunned. It took her a moment to react. Slowly, she nodded, her wide eyes conveying what the fuck just happened?
"Hun, you okay?" Vaggie asked before questioning aloud, "Maybe I shouldn't have encouraged this?"
Husk quickly excused himself, heading to Crymini's room. Soon, he was knocking at her door. It unlocked and opened.
Crymini was curled on her bed, petting Keekee.
Husk paused as he realized Keekee opened the door. From the bed. He looked at her curiously. "You've started doing that a lot."
Crymini looked up. "What?"
"Nothing. Talking to the cat." He pulled out the bottle and gave it a little, rattling shake. "I picked you up something for the withdrawal. Should get rid of the tremors. Prevents seizures too."
Crymini scowled, agitated. "I'm careful enough not to dust to the point where I have seizures!"
Husk ahhed. "That's not easy. I'm guessing you've died a few times working that out."
"Duh!" Crymini pulled herself out of bed and stalked over, snatching the bottle from Husk's hand. She made it halfway to bed before muscle tremors knocked her to the floor. "FUCK!"
Husk snatched the bottle as it tried to roll under the bed. Then set it on her dresser, trading it for an empty vodka bottle stolen from his bar. He quickly moved into the bathroom and poured water into the vodka bottle from the sink.
Returning, he opened the pill bottle, dumping two into his palm. And crouched next to Crymini, helping her take the pills and holding the bottle steady for her to wash them down.
He sat with her until the tremors subsided, ignoring the unpleasant things she had to say about that.
Day Three - The Golden Ring restaurant, early evening:
The rooftop dining vista gave Niffty a view of Pentagram City that she hadn't seen before. Of course, the first landmarks she had spotted were the Heaven Embassy crater and, far away, the lights of the Hazbin Hotel.
Seviathan smiled, plucking another tentacle of calamari and biting into it as he listened to Niffty talk at a speed that would leave a less attentive date reeling. He was learning far more about romantic "shipping" than he ever imagined.
Seviathan was playing a game with himself. The same one he always played on a first date: Dinner and a Something . Dinner was always first. The goal was to listen to his date and figure out what she (or in two previous instances, he) would enjoy for the something to come second. He would win if he could do it before dessert.
The game kept him focused on his date, not himself. On rare occasions, if she was boring or too beneath him, the date became Dinner and a Nothing . He had a few of those after breaking up with Charlie, but he'd gotten better at making interesting choices.
The level at which his father would Not Approve of Niffty just heightened how much fun this time was.
"So..." Seviathan asked, needing clarification, "Valentino, the Overlord that runs the city's porn industry, and an angel?"
Niffty corrected him, "A fallen angel."
Seviathan held up his fork, a dripping tentacle of squid hanging from it. "Father told me her name was Sera."
Niffty shook her head. "No, that's a different fallen angel. Lute is the one who got beamed up after the Embassy got zapped. She fell a couple days ago."
While there was no video footage due to the blackout, there were plenty of eye-witness accounts of said Exorcist's holy recall.
Seviathan pondered the possibility. "And only you know about her falling?"
Niffty shook her head again. "Leonard knows. He came home with her blood on him." She gobbled some fried calamari rings, followed by a gulp of the dipping sauce.
"I should ask him to bring me some of her feathers," Niffty said. "Vaggie promised, but I think she forgot." She ate a little more. "Okay, now you tell me something."
Knowing better than to get started on himself, Seviathan deflected, "Okay, how about I tell you a bad joke?" He grinned. "How can you tell the difference between an Exorcist and a newspaper?"
Niffty thought a moment then began to laugh. "The Exorcist is black and white and gold all over."
Seviathan laughed with her. "You're too good for me."
The sound of distant gunshots caught Niffty's attention. She looked out over the city, eye roving until she locked onto the Doomsday District.
Seviathan read Niffty's excitement. "Do you like to watch or would you prefer to play?"
"Play! Vaggie once took us there to fight. It was fun!"
Seviathan smiled. He may have just won the game. "Well, how would you like to go there after dinner? I have a nice selection of weapons in the limo's trunk."
Niffty nodnodnodnodded excitedly.
And that's a win.
Seviathan grinned. "Dessert first?"
"Okay." Niffty oooohed as Seviathan summoned a pool of inky black through which tentacles emerged, delivering dessert menus.
Niffty's thoughts returned to shipping. "I really need to replace Alfrenzo and Estarte. Their love is forever, but their corpses are beginning to smell."
Seviathan suggested, "Have you considered jars of formaldehyde?"
His ears caught the delightfully disturbing chimes of a xylophone played in a minor key.
Niffty began to sing.
"The way that I see them is so romantic!
It's not like I want them to be dead,
But I can arrange them if they're not moving,
To match the picture inside my head."
Seviathan had to give that to her. "Well really, if they don't cooperate, whose fault is that?"
"Not mine!" Niffty agreed.
The xylophone was now accompanied by drums and electric guitar.
"I make the hotel clean and orderly,
And fix everything as it's meant to be,
80% Harmless, I'm nobody's enemy..."
Niffty was practically vibrating in her seat as she sang. "Just need to do something with all of this energy!"
She looked up at the pentagram in the sky.
"But I see inside my head,
A warning light that's shining red..."
Growing manic, her eye glowing, pupil dilating, she laughed as she sang, "...A big, wet, sloppy, splattering red!"
The music surrounding them swelled into a feverish, heavy chorus.
"Pursuing my new inspiration,
Is driving me to predation!"
Seviathan sang knowingly in response,
"Reality or fabrication,
Changes through participation."
Seviathan jumped up from his chair as the music shifted to a darker, heavier iteration of the first verse. He sang to her:
"It's time to begin to find a new sin,
To shed this boredom like I shed my old skin!"
Eldritch flashes of green power danced between his hands.
"A hellborn von Eldritch, I'm nobody's enemy,
"Just need to do something with all of this energy!"
His eyes and teeth glowed green as the rest of him fell into shadow.
"But I see within the crack,
A swarming sea of roiling black,
A big, grinning, hungry, welcoming black."
Seviathan spun his chair so he was standing behind it. Niffty leapt up and skipped across the table, jumping to stand on Seviathan's chair. Staring with a big grin and dancing to his lyrics.
Seviathan continued to sing:
"Insanity as recreation,
Food for my hallucination,
It's practically just masturbation
For my inner abomination!"
Seviathan picked up Niffty and twirled her. The two danced across the rooftop, continuing their song, now singing together. Another variation of the chorus. A bridge.
Seviathan summoned a twisted, toothy guitar and a tambourine of metal, bone and tendon. The two reveled in adding directly to the music.
"Don't fight the deterioration,
For madness is emancipation,
We'll embrace our new revelation,
And give in to the depredation!"
They ended the song holding hands, opposite arms outstretched, standing on the edge of the rooftop and looking out over the city.
Breathing heavily with the exertion.
"So..." Niffty rubbed her hands together, eye narrowed and grin sadistically broad. "How do we get Lute and Valentino together?"
"Well, we have to find them first," Seviathan said. "But that's for our second date."
Day Three - Courthouse, Heaven, early evening:
There was turmoil in Heaven.
She had released all of the horrible truths that Sera had kept secret. And angels were upset. Just as good souls should be at such atrocities.
Emily understood their pain, and the need many expressed to help. She had before her three proclamations that would open avenues to do so. But they all felt meager.
Then there were the ones crying out for assurance that this would never happen again. How could she assure them when the Exterminations had been going on for so long behind her back?
At least her worst concern had been unfounded. Lute's plan had failed utterly. There was no one calling the slain Exorcists martyrs. No one wanted a statue of Adam in the promenade. The fall of two angels had made it very clear in the minds of everyone which side was morally in the wrong in the eyes of the Throne.
Wait. Two?
Emily read the scroll she was holding closer, eyes tracing over the fine Enochian print.
The Elders Above did cast Lute down.
As surprises go, that wasn't one. What was a surprise was that she didn't know. As far as she could tell, Hell didn't know. Lute's fall was not the cosmic event that Sera's was.
It was a non-event.
Which means that Lute was active in Hell and was possibly a problem. Again.
...Or maybe she would just show up at the Hazbin Hotel's front door, taking Vaggie up on that offer.
Emily's mind conjured up an image of Charlie responding to Lute's knock, only for the door to refuse to open.
I should not be smiling at that. But she was.
I'm going to have to tell Vaggie when I get home. The realization was a gut punch to her empathy. Vaggie would need all the hugs.
The scroll ended with yet another unpleasant reality, reminding her that it was her job as High Seraphim to protect all the angels of Heaven. Including the remaining Exorcists. Whom a whole lot of angels were very, very upset with for very good reason.
Emily sighed, dropping the scroll on the pile of reports and leaning back in (not) Sera's chair. Briefly, she distracted herself from the pile of stress before her by questioning the ethics of requisitioning herself a different chair. One that was smaller and was never Sera's.
On one hand, it felt like pride. Like putting herself above the people she was serving. But was that real or pointless and unhealthy self-denial?
Heaven had infinite supplies of everything they wanted. But fashioning those supplies into the desired items took the will of skilled crafters. From clothing to ice cream, Heaven was full of "shops" where angels who loved to create could give their creations to angels who loved what they created.
And that was the argument which won: the realization that she would be giving the master furnisher joy. And to make it as joyful as possible, she would ask him for the favor in person. Not through some impersonal text or scroll.
Emily got up and flew over her desk and out into the hall.
Flying down the hallway, Emily spotted two good friends, and her eyes widened with concern.
At the center of a small gathering, Molly was standing defensively in front of Sir Pentious. She was pointing a finger at another angel and had a look that made Emily suspect she just missed witnessing an epic telling-off.
Emily landed, asking everyone, "What's wrong?"
Her appearance dispersed the crowd. Emily looked at Molly as the spider angel lowered her arms, relaxing.
Before Molly could say anything, Sir Pentious insisted, "It wassss nothing, Missss Emily. I made a misssstake."
Molly did not seem to agree. "Che cazzo?"
Sir Pentious looked worried. "Emily? I have to ask. Do you still want me to be on your sssstaff?"
Emily blinked. "Yes! Of course I do!" She gave him a bright smile. "Why wouldn't I?"
Sir Pentious noted, "I worked for the Heaven Embassssssy for a week... and I destroyed it."
Emily looked between him and Molly. "That's fine. I'd already told Sera that I wanted that tower torn down. She just... hadn't done any of the paperwork yet."
"Emily. We both know that issssn't why it happened."
Emily's smile softened but did not go away. "Sir Pentious, you are amazing. You helped find a way to save souls from demonic pacts. You addressed all of Hell repentantly and truthfully, encouraging them to give redemption and Heaven a try. And what you were able to get that projector to do was miraculous."
She spreads her hands. "Sure, it wasn't perfect. But nobody's perfect!" Emily reassured him, "You're part of my staff because I really, really, really want you to be. So long as you want to help."
Sir Pentious smiled gratefully, tearing a little.
Emily looked to Molly questioningly.
Molly frowned. "Not all the angels have been welcoming to Sir Pentious."
"Who?" She expected Exorcists.
Molly's answer surprised her. "Thomas."
Emily raised a finger, opening her mouth to point out that there were a lot of Thomases in Heaven, and even several in the Courthouse.
Sir Pentious clarified before she could. "The architect of the old Embassy."
"Oh."
Sir Pentious said, "I did destroy his work. It'ssss fair for him to be upsssssset."
Molly had the expression of someone biting her tongue and agreeing to disagree.
Emily nodded and gave the serpent angel a smile. "You are good to forgive. If he causes you any more grief, please let me know. I'll talk to him."
After a moment of quiet, Molly told her, "You should talk to all of them."
Emily blinked. "Who?"
"Everyone," Molly answered. "Emi, people are scared. Two angels have fallen in less than a week. There are angels in the Court who argued on Adam's side and they are terrified they will be next."
Emily frowned, having uncharitable thoughts towards those angels.
Sera's words rang in her head. If you start to question, you could end up like Lucifer. Fallen.
Emily squashed those thoughts as best she could. "Nobody should be afraid to question."
"You've signed disclosures, Emi, but you've never talked to everyone," Molly plead. "You're our High Seraphim now. They need to hear the truth from you."
Emily sighed and nodded. "Okay. Then as you are my staff, I have your next assignment."
Molly and Sir Pentious looked at her eagerly.
"Figure out how I should tell Heaven."
Day Three - Hazbin Hotel bar, evening:
Charlie was nursing a Sangria, sitting between Cherri Bomb and Vaggie at the bar.
Crymini has finally emerged from her room, driven by hunger. While Angel Dust had exited stage kitchen to see what Niffty had left in the refrigerator, the puppy demon sated herself on bar pretzels.
Cherri Bomb watched Charlie. After several minutes, she spoke up. "So, Charlie, this Seviathan fellow, how bad news is he?"
"What?" Charlie looked up, startled. "He's not," she assured her. "Sure, he's a bit narcissistic and kinda a jerk, but he's got plenty of good sides too. Why would you think he's bad?"
"Because ya look like I felt when Izzi started flirting with Niffty."
Charlie felt she should not be surprised to hear that. "Seviathan's fine." Charlie sighed, running her finger over the edge of her Sangria. "We were young. And our families were close, so dating him was... convenient. And he was fine." Charlie's eyes shifted "We just weren't compatible."
Husk asked, "Do I even need to say how obvious it is that there's more to it?"
Charlie took a deep breath. She finally admitted, "I don't trust myself with him."
Vaggie's remaining eye widened in shock. "Y-you... still have feelings for him, hon?"
"No!" Charlie yelped and jumped to bury that notion. " No. Oh no. It's just..." Another deep breath. "When I was with him, I did some things that were..." Her voice got very small. "...mean."
Cherri Bomb raised her eyebrow. "Really? You?"
Vaggie said, "I'm failing to picture that."
Charlie gave them an ashamed nod. "I was... not nice... to his sister Helsa." She leaned over the bar and buried her face in her arms.
"Picturing it better now."
Cherri Bomb ahhed. "And afterwards, I'm sure ya buried her in apology letters."
Charlie looked up, expression cross. "No! Helsa is a fucking cunt."
"Whoo oooaaah! " Cherri Bomb laughed proudly. "I didn't know ya had that in ya, Charlie."
Charlie sighed. "Just because she deserved it doesn't change that I became somebody I didn't like."
Husk guessed, "And Seviathan talked you into it?"
Charlie shook her head. "No. That's just it. He didn't. It was all on me. He just... made it okay. Made it feel like it wasn't wrong."
"Ah!" Cherri Bomb grinned. "Classic bad influence. Reminds me of when Angie and I first became friends."
Vaggie suggested to Charlie, "And you're worried he might be a bad influence on Niffty too?"
Charlie nodded. "Is that wrong? That was a long time ago. We were... er, Crymini's age. Niffty's a grown woman, right?"
Vaggie, Husk and Cherri Bomb just gave her a look.
Crymini helped, "Yeah. Maybe Niffty will be a bad influence on him."
Day Three - Doomsday District, evening:
Shouts mingled with the percussion of gunshots and explosions as gang warfare ripped a new hole in the southern quarter of the Doomsday District.
Seviathan stood at the entrance to the alley, both hands on the hilt of his sword cane planted in front of him, listening to the violence ahead. Beside him, Niffty bounced eagerly, holding the massive, gruesomely serrated knife she chose from his trunk collection. It had fangs.
"Ready for this?" he asked quite unnecessarily. Niffty was already making desperately eager noises.
Seviathan unclasped the sword within his cane from its sheath, drawing it smoothly. He attached the sheath to his belt with his off-hand, then drew out his dueling pistol.
Several demonic forms poured into the alley. The four remaining demons from the losing side of the battle ahead, routed and pursued by the stronger gang.
"Ready!" Niffty squealed before charging into the alley. She was underneath them, among them, blade flashing. She bounced off the dumpsters, filth and walls faster than predator or prey could take aim.
One of the demons had wings. The batlike she-demon saw the battle had changed and chose the better part of valor. She didn't make it out of the alley before black tentacles slithered out of gaping maws to the void, ensnaring her. Seviathan stepped over the tentacles as they brought her to the ground screaming. He paused with a grin and a gentlemanly tip of his top hat. Then turned back to the carnage.
Ahead, a large one had grabbed Niffty, easily overpowering her with his size. Seviathan took aim and put a bullet through his head before wading into the melee with his sword. This was easily the best first date he'd had in an age.
Day Three - Victor's Clinic, late evening:
Lute awakened to dull, wretched agony and the splitting headache that accompanied it. Her blood was wet and tacky against her skin and soaked into the remains of her uniform. The psychotic "doctor" hadn't stripped her, just cut away wherever he wanted to access. The fucker had bored into her, removing "samples" until even she couldn't take it anymore and passed out. Inside novas of hurt, she could feel herself missing things. And what remained was twisted and filthy with nausea.
Lute felt alien in her own body. The monster had violated her with sickness, stealing what little Heaven had not stripped from her.
Lute coughed violently. A cough filled with blood and bile. It stung in her mouth. She hated it. Hated... everything.
Victor looked up at her. "Good evening."
Lute fought to focus, her eyes following lines of gold to the darkness beyond the doctor. Fever sweat was dripping into her eyes, stinging them, mixing with her tears. She wanted to wipe them, but she was restrained and inexcusably weak.
"Fuck your pestilent corpse."
Victor hmmed. "Even this close to the end..."
Lute focused enough to see the lines of gold were tubes. The fucker was bleeding her.
Victor walked towards her. "Someone up there must really hate you. Or perhaps just everyone up there." He smiled. "To not just cast you down, but at the border of Cannibal Town?"
Lute seethed, trying to pretend the words didn't have their intended impact.
Victor mused, "You'd think Heaven doesn't appreciate all your hard work."
"F-f-fuck. You."
Victor cocked his head. "I can relate." He looked over his tools, selecting the corkscrew. "It makes me curious. Who are you really? What is at the core of a mass-murdering angel? What... makes you tick?"
Lute growled. "G-g-getting to s-slice open filth like you and see wh-what your insides look like."
"See," Victor claimed. "I can relate."
Lute looked away, spitting. "And h-h-Heaven says I'm evil..."
Just look at what I've been killing and tell me that again!
Victor stopped, staring at her, setting aside the tool in his hand. "A little too much."
Lute glared back at him.
Victor folded his hands behind him. "I'm just a doctor. I study disease. How it works. How it spreads. How to stop it. You can't eliminate a problem if you cannot see it for what it is. At the core."
He stepped closer. "Yet over and over, someone gets a fanciful idea in their head about me, then tells someone else. Who embellishes when they tell another. Until the fiction has buried the truth, and I am mistaken for the monster."
"Familiar tale, isn't it?" He picked up his angelic corkscrew again. "Being labeled the monster when all you've ever done is for the greater good?"
Lute gave him a twisted grimace. "D-deluded f-f-freak."
Shut up with this stupid sympathy-for-the-devil bullshit and just get on with it already!
Victor walked close. "I'll tell you my truth if you show me yours."
He leaned closer. "I've never built monsters from corpses." His tone was one of weary disgust. "I never killed millions of people."
Victor whispered into Lute's ear. "And I have never. Ever. Ridden a fucking horse."
Lute eyes widened.
Victor pulled away. "Now it's your turn. Let's strip away the delusions and learn what you really are. Now..."
He placed the corkscrew over one of the buboes near her missing arm. "This is going to hurt."
Day Three - Hazbin Hotel, late evening:
Angel Dust was just returning from the kitchen when the golden portal opened in the middle of the parlor.
Crymini turned to stare, brushing pretzel crumbs off her front.
Angel Dust called out as Emily stepped through, carrying three giant scrolls. "Welcome home! Just in time for dinner."
Vaggie asked warily. "You cooked?"
Angel Dust grew defensive. "I can cook." He crossed both sets of arms. "My specialty is lasagna."
He added after a pause, "That's not what Niffty left us, however. Tonight is meat loaf. I think."
Husk grumbled something.
Crymini got up. "Great! I'm fucking starving!"
Charlie perked up. "Hey, Emily! We still on track for the rebuilding in four days?"
Emily nodded happily. "Yes! The requisitions for the materials have gone through and I've gotten several submissions for the designs." She offered up the scrolls. "I want you to look over them and help me decide."
Charlie looked at Vaggie and back. She gave a nervous laugh. "Emily, I'm not really an architect."
"I know. But you did so wonderfully with the new Hazbin Hotel!" Emily gushed. "And I figure you and Vaggie will visit the Embassy more than anyone down here."
The seraphim paused. "And I may have a sliiiiiight unfair bias due to something earlier today, so I want this to be fair."
Vaggie smiled. "In that case, why don't we all have a look?"
"After dinner," Angel Dust said. Your loaves of unidentified ground meat are getting cold."
Husk deadpanned, "You are really selling this meal."
Already on her way to the kitchen, Crymini shot back, "I spent last week eating bugs. This is fucking gourmet shit here!"
The front door opened. Niffty entered, splattered with blood, her clothing a wreck, something black smeared on her smile.
Emily and Charlie gasped.
Angel Dust started towards her. "Holy shit, Niff! Are you okay?"
Husk dived for the medical supplies.
Niffty lifted her arms high and cried out, "Best. Date. Ever!"
Emily blinked. "You're hurt!"
Niffty skipped across the room. "Yeah. But they're hurt worse."
Charlie whimpered, "They?"
Vaggie dared ask, "What happened?!"
"Seviathan took me back to where you took us for Trust warfare!" Niffty told Vaggie. "He's so romantic!"
Vaggie blinked and cringed just a little.
Cherri Bomb whispered to Charlie, "Do ya think that's Seviathan's blood?"
Niffty overheard. "Nope." she paused, wiping some of the black from her lips. "Oh." She held up her hand. "Yeah, that is. He bleeds black! Isn't that cool?!"
Charlie stared. "Uhhh..."
"I'm gonna go sew myself up now. Night!" The little she-demon danced towards the elevator, humming a song.
Charlie watched Niffty twirl in the elevator, playing air guitar while the door shut.
From the kitchen doorway, holding a plate and talking with her mouth full, Crymini called out, "Hey, this stuff is good!"
Day Three - Consent, night:
The crowd of ravers parted around Seviathan as he walked towards the booth where Valentino was lounging, surrounded by hot nothings. His injuries were already well into healing - a perk of being a von Eldritch - so the sword-cane was more for appearances. He had cleaned himself and changed suits. The old one was unsalvageable and had a new home in his date memorabilia collection.
Valentino was mid-flattery with a slim demoness who he envisioned in a bukake film when the young man walked up and stood before him. It took a moment for the Overlord to recognize him. The von Eldritches didn't run in the same circles as anything he was into. Although maybe that was about to change?
He could smell... something nasty.
Seviathan tipped his top hat. "Overlord Valentino. A moment of your time?"
Valentino leaned back, studying him. "You know, I don't think I've ever had a von Eldritch pay me a visit."
Seviathan said, "I have a proposition for you."
"Oh?" Valentino's interest was piqued. "Looking to get into film? I could make you a star. But I should warn you: I do porn, not horror."
"Actually, I'm looking to get you on film," Seviathan told him.
Valentino blinked.
"Just a still," Seviathan told him. "A cover photo for my current girlfriend's little novella. You and a woman named Lute. Kissing, at least. Ravishing would be preferred."
"That... would be expensive," Valentino said after a moment of thought.
"I'm sure we can negotiate a fair price," the von Eldritch boy told him. "It will take me a few days to procure the other party, but I want to make sure there are no issues on this end first."
Valentino frowned, intrigued... yet distrusting. This is weird.
While he could not put it in such words, the proposal was significantly outside his comfort zone. Valentino's frown shifted into a scowl. "This is not how I do business. I'm the one behind the camera."
Seviathan looked up pointedly at the wall behind Valentino.
Valentino didn't have to look to know the von Eldritch boy was observing the posters, most of which feature Valentino himself. "Those are to promote products that I make money off of."
Seviathan nodded. "Well, if what you need is a product, we can add throwing in Lute herself to the negotiation. She's a fallen Exorcist. I understand angel porn is a hot commodity right now." He wore a predatory smile of glowing green teeth. "Might make a suitable replacement for the Angel you lost."
Valentino fumed internally at that reminder. "If I ever get my hands on..."
Valentino paused, considering the offer, then looked around the club. "I'm guessing Consent is not where you want to do this. In fact, I'm guessing consent has nothing to do with this whatsoever."
The mothman crossed his arms. "I can force a kiss, but not a signature."
The von Eldritch boy's smile widened a little. "Oh, for Lute, I'm going to get another of your coterie's assistance." He raised his sword cane, pointing at one of the posters.
Valentino turned to eye the poster of himself and Velvette reclining in an exceptionally sensuous pose above the provocative label:
LOVE POTION by Velvette
"Oh. Yes, that will do nicely."
Day Three - Charlie's, Vaggie's and Emily's bedroom, night:
Vaggie had barely gotten her shirt off when Emily glomped her from behind, wrapping her arms about Vaggie tightly.
Vaggie jumped a little then sank into the hug, smiling. "Hello to you too." She tossed her shirt onto a nearby chair. "Are you okay, Emily?"
She saw Emily's hand beckoning for Charlie to join. "Whoa, okay, if this is another melt me evening, I don't think I can take it."
Charlie could see Emily's expression, and empathically mirrored the angel's concern as she moved in to hug Vaggie too.
Vaggie caught that concern and began to fret. "Look, if this is about that whole death story earlier..."
"Lute fell," Emily said.
Vaggie's remaining eye widened. "Oh. That... Jeez..." She felt Emily stiffen a little. "Sorry. Gosh ... so much for getting a break."
Charlie squeezed Vaggie tighter, now understanding the reason for the hug. "Vaggie, anything you need from us..."
Vaggie responded with a slightly strained voice, "Air... would be... nice."
Charlie released Vaggie, stepping back with an "Oh! Oops."
Emily kept hugging tightly.
Vaggie sighed. "You two are being more dramatic about this than is needed."
Charlie smiled affectionately, "Then let us be dramatic, love."
Vaggie gave in and was hugged fiercely by Charlie again.
"Fine," Vaggie said. "The psycho bitch who disfigured me and left me for dead is now out there somewhere. Yes, it sucks. But I have her sword, and all of you. I have love. And she has nothing. I'm not going to let her mere existence in Hell get to me."
Her two loves hugged even more urgently.
"I'm not convincing either of you, am I?"
Charlie said, "You're not."
Emily agreed. "Nope!"
Charlie stepped back, holding Vaggie in her hands while Emily resolutely continued to hug. Charlie began to sing, her melody accompanied by a phantom harpsichord:
"Let us hold you in these arms. Keep you safe from all danger, from all harm.
"You've been hurt, you've been betrayed. It's okay to feel anger, to be afraid."
Vaggie moaned, "Charlie..."
Charlie reached up and stroked Vaggie's face below her eyepatch. She continued to sing as the strains of violins join the gentle harpsichord:
"Vaggie dear, I know you feel you always must be strong, angelic steel.
"You protect us, fierce and true. It's our turn, you can let us protect you."
Vaggie protested, "This really isn't..."
Charlie smirked a little, not stopping:
"You're so cute when you resist but my love give in to this, I insist."
Charlie booped her nose. Vaggie blushed and gave up completely.
The song and the hugging continued.